Motorists groan as Marine Bridge repairs progress

BARELY two weeks into the repairs on the bridge, vehicular movement out of Apapa through the Marine beach bridge has remained turbulent for motorists, especially during the rush hours.

Vehicle users and commuters have been urging the contractor handling the rehabilitation to hasten up efforts and keep to the timeline for completion of the project.

The Federal and Lagos State governments had jointly announced, on March 9, that the bridge would be partially shut till Monday, June 21, 2021 for emergency repairs on the Apapa outward section.

The repair of the bridge, which started last year with the first phase, involves bearing and expansion joints replacement. Specifically, construction works were implemented on the lane in- bound Apapa, while the present second phase focus on the lane that conveys vehicles outside the axis.

The maintenance works for the infrastructure include removal and cleaning of the existing expansion joints to prevent further deterioration of the facility, which has been subjected to fire outbreaks on different occasions.

The rehabilitation work covers a stretch of 350 metres on the CMS- bound lane and the scope of work also cover a total of 60 bearings and 14 expansion joints, which are to be replaced alongside the removal and replacement of bad asphalts on the bridge.

Following the partial closure, traffic is diverted to alternative routes. Government sources had disclosed efforts to reduce the effect of the expected traffic, stating that palliative works have been completed on the alternative routes to ease movement. As directed, motorists inwards Apapa are making use of Total petrol station underneath the bridge to connect Naval dockyard to Danlami/ Leventis corridor and to connect Marine beach by Mobil through Federal Fire Service/ Obanikoro to Naggaf/ North Avenue to Wharf Road.

Also, vehicles from Ajegunle inwards Iganmu or Ijora are using the Agbo Malu to Tego Barracks to Total Petrol station underneath the bridge and ascend Marine Bridge to connect their desired destinations.

Despite these alternative routes, motorists are worried on the unexpected traffic woe brought about by the latest closure, stressing that the government could have declared a total closure of the bridge to complete both the first and the second phase at a single stretch since last year. A motorist identified simply as Mr Samson said: “The government shutdown the bridge inward Apapa area of the state for repairs for a period of five months last year. The latest repairs would take another three months of pains and hours to get to our destination.

“The problem of this bridge is largely due to the fact that high trucks consistently pass through it almost 24 hours. I don’t think it was designed for the use such heavy duty vehicles and definitely we have seen the effects on it now.”